May 17, 2018

Paint, Again

Here I am again, paint quandary land*. Yet again, the challenge is to find paint that brightens a dim room. Except, unlike the hallway in Ohio, our living room light changes wildly throughout the day and season to season. That apple green (take my word for it) on the left is what I chose for the living room and upper part of the adjoining eat-in-kitchen. The green on the right was intended for the majority of the kitchen. What looked super vibrant on the paint chips, no matter their location in the rooms, no matter the time of day, (I was so confident of these color choices that I bought 2 gallons of the light green, 1 gallon of the dark) looks BLAH with actual paint. So washed out and chalky bland. Pfffffffffffffffffttttt.
Step 2. Cover the light green square on the living room wall with the darker green. Still a no go. This photo is a little over brightened. The green looks completely washed out on the wall in reality.
Step 3. Embrace the dimness. Rather than attempt to brighten the dark room, I decided to create a rich, cozy space with a dark turquoise or dark blue. The 8 oz sample of blue #1 is above. A little too bright for what I picture in my mind. Hence the chips of blue taped to the wall. I selected so many sample chips at the store that the shop clerk gave me a full swatch book to keep. More options to choose from isn't necessarily helpful.
Step 4. Got another 8 oz sample. Blue #2 is on the left. Blue # 1 is on the right. Something between the two is what I am after. At least I think that's what I'm after. It's really hard to predict what colors will do given the location in the room and the time of day. I do think I'm inching ever closer to THE ONE, though. 

Light green = Behr paint, Eggshell finish; Olympic color Lettuce Alone OL623.3
Dark green = Behr paint, Eggshell finish; Olympic color Lime Green OL623.4
Blue # 1 = Behr paint, Eggshell finish; Behr color Precious Stone M470-6
Blue # 2 = Behr paint, Matte finish; Sherwin-Williams color Loch Blue SW6502

*Here's the color that busted open the Ohio paint quandary. An awesome orange that, unfortunately, looks too pink or too washed out everywhere in our new house.

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